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Dear Readers and Friends, I thought I had written this post in advance as I am on vacation. So here I am in Lake Tahoe with 15 other friends-skiers-snowboarders on Day 3 of 4 of shredding the slopes. And I am dead-tired. But I’m writing about Fisherman’s Pie because my bed is the couch. Which means I am last to bed, first to wake. But it leaves me a few minutes here and there to blog while we are all watching movie after movie after movie after movie into the wee hours of the night. While sitting on my bed.. But I can use some of this time to write about Fisherman’s Pie.

Once again, I’m scrambling to get posts written on time. Thankfully, I find the writing to be the easy, fun part of food blogging. Second only to the eating, of course. There was a boy crisis last night (for once, not my boy crisis) that called for wine and pizza and more wine. It may or may not have been a situation where there was drinking from whole bottles (classy women!), but I can’t confirm or deny this. And the night may or may not have ended with polishing off the last bits of Irish Apple Crumb Cake with Honey Whipped Cream.

Irish Cream Cupcakes with Pistachio Swiss Meringue are a beautiful spring treat. This classy recipe is perfect for Saint Patrick’s Day or Easter or any other “just because” occasion. Impress everyone and watch them fight over the first and last cupcake crumbs.

I’m lying awake at 2:30 am, so you’re getting 2:30 am ramblings, which can sometimes be quite entertaining and at other times can be quite incoherent.

Bedtime last night was 9:30 pm and I was so proud of myself for getting in there on time and falling asleep almost immediately as my head hit the pillow, giving thanks that I would get a full eight hours of sleep on a weeknight. [Insert pat on the back. Go Danielle!!]

Okay folks, friends, and lovers of food and of all things Irish. Betwixt the work hours and the fun hours, I’ve managed to find some blog hours. I can always find blog hours to devote to Irish anything.

I have this thing though – It stems from dating a fresh-off-the-boat Irishman for nearly four years (back when I was a naive young thing and any European accent gave my heart a flutter).

The gooey, juicy, cheesy Classic Pastrami Reuben is deceptively quick and easy to make. It’s basically a grilled cheese plus a few extra flavor-filled toppings. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, or course, and also perfect on any other day of the year.

You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread.

Let’s take a few quiet seconds to look at and adore this loaf of bread. Ahhhh… sighhhh…

It is a thing of beauty. That golden, perfectly cracked top crust.

If I had to pick one carb to eat for the rest of my life, it might be this bread. Although it’s a toss-up between Irish Soda Bread and Aunt Janet’s Cinnamon Rolls.

What I love, I mean <3 <3 <3 LOVE about this recipe, is how easy it is. If you love soda bread, and you’ve ever tried to make it at home, and that experience made you hate soda bread, then this recipe is for you.

Let me give you a little history of me and soda bread:

When I lived in New York, I used to eat at this little Irish diner once a week called Eileen’s Country Kitchen. (2018 Update: I just found out the place CLOSED! Bah!) The food was okay, nothing special, a little pricey maybe. BUT THEY REELED ME IN WITH THE BREAD. I couldn’t. stop. going. back.

A free basket of Irish Soda Bread. Fresh. Soft. Made irresistible with a pat of butter on top. That bread basket would get me every time.

Me talking to me: “Danielle, wait until after dinner to eat that bread. Don’t ruin your supper! Oh my gahhh, but look how fresh it is today. and soft white. and I’m so hungry. It’s just calling my name. Just one. Okay, but where is the food? Should I have a second slice? Okay, have a second slice, but you MAY NOT have any more for dessert. [20 minutes later:] I’m so full, but I need just a little something sweet now. Just ONE bite. or slice. with a little butter…”

Every. dang. time.

So I asked Mary, of Mary’s Celtic Kitchen, could I please have her bread recipe? And I took that little scratch-paper recipe home with me and within a few hours, had my own loaf of Irish Soda Bread in the oven. And an hour after that, I pulled a pretty, albeit lop-sided, round loaf out of the oven. And about an hour after that, I had a raisin-spotted concrete block sitting on my kitchen counter.

But then one of my colleagues made this ↑↑ bread and I NEEDED the recipe. Like, hounded her for the recipe. Mayyyybe got a little aggressive about it. (Just kidding about that last part… or am I?) Her loaf was so perfect. Could this be the answer to my soda bread wishes?

I really think it is. It was so easy to make and turned out perfectly. That first bite took me back to all my evenings sitting in the booth at Mary’s Celtic Kitchen and my internal struggle – to eat or not to eat a bajillion slices?

The crust is crispy and toasted perfectly, sitting right on top of the soft, chewy insides. Sweet, plump red currants. Just a touch sweet, but not too sweet that I can’t eat slice after slice after slice, with that airy baking soda taste. Do you know the taste I’m talking about? It’s light and mellow and addicting and I want to keep eating morebread, so I can taste that taste and figure it out.

Now go put the tea kettle on and eat! The bread is perfect on its own, so eat a slice plain. The bread is also perfect with butter, so eat a slice with butter too. And then, if you’re me, eat all the other slices in the loaf because, ya know, good bread gets old quickly. Wouldn’t want that to go to waste. No way, nuh uh! Must eat it ALL, NOW. Then wash it all down with a steaming cuppa Irish tea.

Easy Irish Soda Bread

You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread. | Lightly adapted from The Food Network

Course
Bread

Cuisine
Irish

Keyword
bread, irish, soda

Prep Time20minutes

Cook Time1hour

Total Time1hour20minutes

Servings2loaves

Ingredients

5cupssifted all-purpose flour

3/4cupsugar

2teaspoonsbaking powder

1 1/2teaspoonssalt

1teaspoonbaking soda

1/2cupbutter1 stick, room temperature

2 1/2cupsred currantsmay substitute raisins, soaked in water for 15 to 20 minutes and drained

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About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…

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About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…